Pennine Magpie

Established in 1996 as a not for profit social enterprise with the aim of diverting elements of local manufacturing and ofice based companies off-cuts, trade waste and over-runs from the landfill stream Pennine Magpie was a ground breaking organisation of its type in Calderdale. Waste was collected from donor premises and, in the case of paper, sold for recycling to a local paper mill. Other carefully selected waste was made available as creative arts and play material to local early years educational and child care organisations through the provision of a scrap for play store.

The Scrap-for-Play Store

A prime benefit of the Scrap-for-Play scheme was the early years' education on sustainability and environmental awareness recieved by a wide group of young people through scheme participation, in learning the value and potentials of materials judged as waste by conventional standards. As for the the waste paper scheme it proved to be unsustainable due to fluctuations in the value of waste paper as a commodity and the high collection and processing costs.

In the beginning Pennine Magpie was managed by a small committee of volunteers, and relied heavily on grant funding - ESF, ENTRUST, B&Q and several small grant awarding bodies. It employed three members of staff and relied heavily on volunteers and committee members giving freely of their time and resources - the then chairman acted as van driver - unpaid also donating the use of his own vehicle.

Early in its development the organisation began to offer a small number of training placements to people with learning difficulties, these were informal and offered a safe and supportive environment where people could gain confidence and learn basic vocational skills without pressure or committment. So the scene was set for Pennine Magpie to develop into the organisation that we see today.